Local marathoners caught up in Boston spirit

EVEN BEFORE SHE headed to the airport for her flight home, Sue Kreusch knew she would return to Boston.

The San Rafael woman had just completed last year's Boston Marathon — having crossed the finish line minutes before two homemade bombs exploded in the crowd and killed three spectators while injuring 264 others — when she made the decision.

"I was coming back to make the point that I'm coming back," Kreusch said. "You can't scare me off from running the race."

Kreusch was one of the marathon's 44 entrants from Marin County, many of whom returned to Boston carrying memories of last year's tragedy. Whether they had heard the explosions first-hand last year or were running the event for the first time this year, they couldn't help but feel the energy of a city intent on overcoming the tragedy.

"I have run seven road marathons, and this is by far and away the best crowd support, the best experience I've ever had at a marathon," said Matt Laye, 33, of Sausalito. "It was loud. The crowds just lined the course for 26 miles. You're hearing the support the entire time, and in some places it's four or five people deep."

When some local marathoners gathered two Sundays ago for a short run to rally support for locals heading to Boston, some of them were overcome with emotion, as they revisited the disturbing memories from a year ago.

But when runners arrived in Boston for this year's marathon, any residual sadness or haunting memories quickly gave way to the city's infectious energy.

"I was expecting that when I got there, it would be a very emotional experience," Kreusch said. "It was emotional coming to Boston, but once I got here, everyone was so positive. It was more a feeling of camaraderie than emotional."

The high spirits prevailed throughout the city, not just on race day, but in the days leading up to the race.

"A lot of people in stores or on the streets were saying, 'thanks for coming back out,' and 'thanks for returning to our city,'" said Kiley Lucan, 27, wife of Novato Mayor Eric Lucan. "You could just tell how proud they were of their city and that they wanted to make sure the world knew their city was resilient."

The words "incredible" and "overwhelming" were used by just about every local marathoner to describe the crowd cheering the runners.

Of the 44 Marin residents who signed up for the marathon, Laye finished with the fastest time: 2 hours 23 minutes and 32 seconds.

At 20 years old, Jessica Kelly of San Rafael was the youngest Marin resident to run the marathon. Richard Canady of Tiburon was Marin's oldest entrant — and one of the event's oldest finishers. He was one of three 79-year-olds to complete the course. The only older finishers were an 80-year-old and five 81-year-olds.

Of this select group of advanced-age marathoners, Canady was one of three from the greater Bay Area, including 81-year-olds Katherine Beiers of Santa Cruz and Thomas Marrin of Fremont.

"I did a 50-mile race last weekend, so I knew going into this one my body would be a little tired," Varner said, "and it definitely showed it."

Regardless of the slide in the standings and the tired legs, Varner said that being part of this Boston Marathon was unlike any sporting event he had ever witnessed.

"The crowds were phenomenal," he said. "On the course, I was in a dark place a couple times. You put your head down, you realize you're tired, and then you realize there's all this support on the course. I couldn't help but smile."